DTNZ: ‘Freedom’ launches - New political movement calls for historic shift to direct democracy

After 14 years of advocating for New Zealanders’ rights and “people power”, the NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party is entering a new era and has streamlined its name to a single, sharp, and unmistakable name: ‘freedom’.

The rebrand marks a strategic pivot toward a fundamental “paradigm upgrade” for New Zealand’s political system: the transition from a traditional parliamentary model to a system of Direct Democracy.

“For too long, the people of New Zealand have been sidelined by a system that treats public consultation as a toothless illusion,” says ‘freedom’ Leader Sue Grey. “We are tired of watching Wellington ignore the voices of everyday Kiwis while pushing through top-down agendas. It is time to shift power from the politicians back to the people.”

The Core Platform: Power to the People

‘freedom’s new platform is built on three pillars designed to dismantle bureaucratic overreach and restore individual sovereignty:

• Enshrining fundamental rights and freedoms: ‘freedom’ is calling for constitutional reform. Fundamental rights and freedoms which are currently recognized, but NOT protected by the NZ Bill of Rights Act (NZBORA), will be elevated to supreme law. This would prevent any future government from overriding fundamental rights, such as freedom of speech, conscience, movement, bodily autonomy, and the right to refuse medical treatment

• Implementing Direct Democracy: Inspired by the Swiss model, Freedom proposes two powerful, binding mechanisms:

• Citizens’ Veto: The power for citizens to gather signatures to force a binding nationwide vote to strike down unpopular legislation.

• Citizen-Initiated Lawmaking: The power for citizens to draft and trigger referendums on new laws, bypassing the traditional parliamentary bottleneck.

• Decentralisation: freedom advocates for moving decision-making to the local level. Direct Democracy will reduce the size of the central government and will reallocate decision making and funding to local communities.

Returning power to the people

Direct Democracy will shrink the influence of traditional politicians and political parties, transitioning their role from “decision-makers” to “administrators” who carry out the will of the public.

“Career politicians won’t like Direct Democracy. That’s too bad!” says Sue Grey. “We are here to return power to the people. Once these changes are enshrined and the power is safely in your hands, our job is done.”

The Roadmap to Change

‘freedom’ has outlined a transition strategy to direct democracy.

A binding public referendum for a constitutional change to entrench our fundamental rights and freedoms and the transition of decision making to “direct democracy” to return power to the people.

“The battle lines are clear,” says Sue Grey. “We want to take power away from Wellington and return it to where it belongs: to the people of New Zealand.”

Daily Telegraph New Zealand (DTNZ) is an independent news website, first published in October 2021. - where this article was sourced.